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The teen mental illness epidemic began around 2012

jonathanhaidt.substack.com

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Re: The teen mental illness epidemic began around 2012

#171

Post by jackmott42 »

nluken wrote: post #79

While I don't doubt that social media can drive some of these mental health issues, I think most teenagers are simply stressed from the constant work that's necessary for the college admissions process. I'm 24, so I would have been a teenager in 2012, but I didn't have a smartphone until I was 16 or so. My high school experience consisted almost entirely of school, studying, and running (my primary extracurricular).…

The vast majority of kids are not focused on college like you were, while that might have been a problem for you, that doesn't mean it is the problem.

Re: The teen mental illness epidemic began around 2012

#172

Post by basicallybones »

It is remarkably easy to expose yourself to truly horrifying things on the Internet. Stories, images, and videos of deaths of all kinds, from videos of terrorists cutting off people's heads to people live streaming their suicides to Reddit stories about motorcyclists having limbs ripped off in traffic accidents. News sites, forums, and social feeds are a parade of horrors. You cannot get away from the Internet, even if you want to, because your job constantly pings you on email/chat/whatever.

It feels like the "learned helplessness" experiments where researchers randomly shocked animals, who could not stop or do anything about the shocks.

I wonder if we are all traumatized by what we have seen over the years on Reddit, Twitter, etc.

There is an incredible recent song "Oh No" by Wet Leg that captures some of this. Here are the lyrics (sorry about the formatting):

I went home All alone Checked my phone Oh no Oh my God Life is hard Credit card Oh no You're so woke Diet Coke I feel gross Oh no I went home All alone I checked my phone And now I'm inside it

On my phone All alone In the zone Oh no Hours pass Pizza rat I like that Oh no 3 AM I feel Zen Fucking Zen Oh no Suck the life From my eyes It feels nice I'm scrolling, I'm scrolling, ah

If you're going to the party I heard there's gonna be some arty People talking 'bout themselves Or whatever it is that you always talk about, ah

I went home All alone I checked my phone Oh no I went home All alone I checked my phone And now I'm inside it

Re: The teen mental illness epidemic began around 2012

#173

Post by mrguyorama »

tdesilva wrote: post #160
mouse_ wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guarantee most of these "high achieving high anxiety types" live with significantly less anxiety than customer service reps/bag handlers/food service workers.

Why do you think that?

None of them make six figures while browsing HN

Re: The teen mental illness epidemic began around 2012

#174

Post by brg »

bluescrn wrote: post #55
deafpolygon wrote: post #19

Smartphones + Social Media

This should be incredibly obvious, especially to adults who've realised (particularly during the pandemic) the effect that social media use can have on themselves. Smartphones should be banned from schools entirely, and parents should be much more careful about keeping track of what their kids are up to online. (But it's probably too late, we've got a generation of young teachers who've grown up hooked on this techno…

Another data point that should point out the obvious, is this coincides with the unexpected rise in traffic fatalities in 2012-2013. It is the societal effect of smart phones.

Re: The teen mental illness epidemic began around 2012

#175

Post by sizzle »

carabiner wrote: post #90
nluken wrote: post #79

While I don't doubt that social media can drive some of these mental health issues, I think most teenagers are simply stressed from the constant work that's necessary for the college admissions process. I'm 24, so I would have been a teenager in 2012, but I didn't have a smartphone until I was 16 or so. My high school experience consisted almost entirely of school, studying, and running (my primary extracurricular).…

40% of high school students don't go to college (of any type). Of those, only a tiny portion are focused on elite universities. Many are just going to Long Beach State, University of Redlands and other 4 year schools that you've never heard of. They have lax admissions. Among adult Americans, only a third have bachelors degrees. Certainly the high pressure scholastic environment of certain high schools is not common.

Most Cal States fit this criteria, but a lot end up at top companies. It’s really all on the student and going to get advanced degrees helps.

Re: The teen mental illness epidemic began around 2012

#176

Post by zahrc »

Counterpoint: as we’re more open with with mental health challenges in adult life, teenagers are more open as well, or at least we can tell better.

The terms teenage angst and peer pressure existed before 2012.

P.S. I’m not saying that social media isn’t bad or making it worse, but there are other factors as well. And when I think of teenagers, I think of poor young humans that are just trying to find and prove themselves, and that is a lot of pressure.

Re: The teen mental illness epidemic began around 2012

#177

Post by [deleted] »

LarryMullins wrote: post #130
magicalist wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 40% of high school students don't go to college (of any type). > Among adult Americans, only a third have bachelors degrees So clearly things have been changing in recent decades. I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss this as a factor.

Going to college is not the same as graduating with a degree. A ton of people go to college for a time and leave with little more than a mountain of debt. Also, a bachelors degree is not even the least degree you can get from a university.

[deleted]

Re: The teen mental illness epidemic began around 2012

#178

Post by throwaway8582 »

mattficke wrote: post #128

This is a complex issue, but one factor not addressed in the piece is the Affordable Care Act, which went into effect shortly before the rise in depression diagnosis rates. Before the ACA the uninsured rate among young people was dramatically higher than it is today, and mental health coverage (which is an essential health benefit under the ACA, and included in all health plans now) was not always included in the hea…

Did you actually read the article? If this was just due to increased diagnosis, one would expect rates of self-harm and suicide to stay the same or fall as kids are able to get better treatment for mental health issues. Instead, we see the opposite happening, self-harm is going up in lockstep with diagnosis, which suggests that the increase in diagnosis corresponds to a real increase in mental health problems among teens.

Re: The teen mental illness epidemic began around 2012

#179

Post by sylens »

nicoburns wrote: post #159
nluken wrote: post #79

While I don't doubt that social media can drive some of these mental health issues, I think most teenagers are simply stressed from the constant work that's necessary for the college admissions process. I'm 24, so I would have been a teenager in 2012, but I didn't have a smartphone until I was 16 or so. My high school experience consisted almost entirely of school, studying, and running (my primary extracurricular).…

That only works in the US though. Colleges outside the US don't tend to care about extra-curriculars, etc.

Unless you’re really pushing for Ivy League, I don’t think colleges in the US care either. Who is calling your high school to verify that they even had an Open Source Club and that you were the treasurer of it?

Re: The teen mental illness epidemic began around 2012

#180

Post by [deleted] »

mouse_ wrote: post #148
thatfrenchguy wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’re going to get a bias in here because a lot of folks are STEM focused / high achieving high anxiety types :)

I guarantee most of these "high achieving high anxiety types" live with significantly less anxiety than customer service reps/bag handlers/food service workers.

[deleted]
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